The History of Paintball – A Rise in Popularity

The exhilarating feeling of chasing down an opponent, stepping softly through the undergrowth as you hunt your prey and finally splatting them with a ball of paint; it’s like nothing else in the world. War games are nothing new. Knights had their tourneys, now we have paintball.

But, where did this amazing game originate? How did it become so popular?

Beginnings

The game in the form we know it today originated in the 1980s. The first official paintball game was held on June 2, 1981. So the history of the game is still relatively short. One of the players at this original game was Bob Jones, who at the time was a writer for Sports Illustrated. His article on the experience brought national attention to the newly created sport in America. Soon, it was to become a fully regulated sport and spread much further than the shores of its creation.

Rise in Popularity

The sport was originally coined as ‘The National Survival Game’. This original iteration had an exclusive contract for gun distribution, but the competitors in the market saw the success of this new game and wanted to profit from it too. So, by the 1990s competition was springing up from all corners, many claiming to have ‘better’ guns. The better technology that sprung from this growing rivalry meant even more interest in the sport. Gas cylinders became ever more developed, leading to longer gameplay thanks to the so-called ‘constant air’ technology. Out of this popularity rose competitive tournaments and the paintball culture that we know and love today.

The Rules

The organisation of the game on a larger level has meant the creation of rules, ones which all paintballing bodies subscribe to. Although these can differ from place to place, common rules include:

• Goggles must be worn at all times for safety.
• There must be no shooting at the head or neck – players that do so will be disqualified.
• No climbing of trees, structures, through windows or into bunkers. The only climbing players are allowed involves stairs.
• No physical contact. Ever.
• Smoking is not allowed during play.
• Verbal abuse and unsportsmanlike behaviour will not be tolerated.
• The decisions of referees are final.

The most important thing, of course, is that you keep your canister full of CO2 to make sure you splat the way to the top of your game!

At Adams Gas, we pride ourselves on the wide variety of products that we provide and the variety of uses that they are applied to. Ensuring that you have the right product is paramount to what we do; we know gas and can advise you on its application across numerous uses. If you have any enquiries don’t hesitate to contact us on 01843 220 596, or keep up to date with all of our latest news via Facebook or Twitter.